The Illusionist
by Tara Laurel
Summary: After facing abuse, betrayal, and the abandonment of her closest and only friend, Claire can't control her emotions anymore. In this moment her mother's life is lost and Claire finds herself running from not only the police, but her true identity. Mature.
1. The Not So Imaginary Friend

**A/N: Yes, the protagonist is a younger girl, but I promise you she's not some perfect Mary Sue and this isn't some gushy romance! There are some of my characters in this story but it also heavily includes Ororo (Storm), Logan (Wolverine), Bobby (Iceman), Kitty (Shadowcat), Marie (Rogue), and more. This is set after X3 movie. This is no AU so sadly Scott (Cyclops), Charles (Professor X), and Jean Grey are still dead, but there will be a cameo by Xavier later on! **

**Chapter One: The Not So Imaginary Friend**

Have you ever heard anyone say, "Remember when we were kids? Life was so much simpler, so much easier back then." Well, I have, and every time I do I want to drag that person through the first eighteen years of my life as a "kid" and ask them what they found to be so simple about it.

At first, everything was normal, I was normal; I had normal parents who lived in a normal neighborhood with normal lives. I even had, what I thought to be, a normal imaginary friend. He was my first and best friend. We met on the school playground when I was in first grade after a couple of boys had pushed me in the mud. My original blue suspenders and pink top were now brown and becoming wet from my tears. It was then that I heard his voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah" I answered, muffled as my face was still pushed against my arms to hide my tears.

"Those boys are jerks. I don't like them."

I peered up and allowed myself a small grin at the boy's comment. His creamy chocolate shaded hair dangled in front of his glasses, covering a few of his freckles and piercing green eyes. He appeared to be a few years older than me, but didn't act like any other boy that was older than me.

"Hi. My name's Jamie, what's yours?"

"Claire." I paused and wiped the last remaining droplets of water off my cheeks.

"You wanna go play on the swings with me?"

"Sure!"

I jumped up and raced Jamie to the swing set across the park. Finally, a friend! I thought to myself as I wrapped my hands around the chains and hoisted myself up. We laughed and kicked and challenged each other to fly over the top. It was the first time all school year I was talking to someone and I could not have been happier.

"Higher!" Jamie hollered as he pumped his own legs faster. "Come on! We can do it!"

"But it's – it's so high. It's too high!"

"I'm right here. I won't let anything bad happen. Now, come on!"

"Okay!" I kicked my short limbs as hard and as fast as they would allow, letting out a wild and giggling scream. I glanced at the gravel below me and felt my chest throb. I squeezed my eyelids shut for a brief moment and almost stopped moving my legs until I reopened my eyes and found Jamie beside me. We were swinging almost in sync. I grinned and let myself gaze at the ground below me, this time without fear.

"Claire Elizabeth Montgomery!"

I instantly dug my sneakers into the gravel, bringing my body to an abrupt stop. The sudden force knocked me off the swing and I landed, knee first on the ground. As I stood, I could feel the warm liquid rushing over my skin.

"Claire! You're not supposed to be playing, you know that! You're supposed to be out front, waiting for us. Now, look what you did!"

By now my father was kneeling in front of me, my mother not far behind.

"I didn't do it, daddy! You did!"

"Young lady, that is no way to talk to your father!"

Even at the young age, I could tell immediately that my father was more angered that he was concerned.

"Honey!" My mother shrieked in her usual frantic tone. "Look what you did to your clothes! All that mud! What – where is the dress I had picked out for you this morning? I told Julie to iron it before breakfast and put it out for you."

"I didn't like it."

"Well that is just too bad missy. This is a private school and we are paying good money for you to go here and little girls who go here wear dresses, whether you like it or not. And they don't play in the mud!"

"She wasn't playing in the mud," Jamie spoke up behind me, "some boys pushed her in."

"Yeah! He's right!"

My parents both looked up at me in shock at my sudden outburst and then around to find the "he" I had been referring to.

"Dear," my father started, still glancing around, "who are you talking about?"

"Jamie! He's my new and bestest friend."

"Sweetie," my mom began this time, "there is no one there. What's going on?"

"What are you talking about? He's right there! Duh!"

"Okay, Claire. I think it is time to go home, now."

I thought my parents were simply being their usual crazy selves and waved goodbye to Jamie as my dad took my hand and harshly pulled me along.

I loved my parents and I believe on some level they loved me too, at least, that is what I tell myself, and that is what they told me. They told me they loved me when they didn't let me watch television or go to movies. They said they simply wanted the best for me when I was forced to take advanced classes and every extracurricular possible. They told me they wanted me to be safe when I wasn't allowed to go outside or play with friends, let alone have any. They were all the friends I needed, they told me. They were wrong.

Jamie and I played at the park behind my school every day until my parents would come looking for me. He even followed me home a few times when I was sad and didn't want to leave him. My parents brought me to several expensive child psychiatrists who all informed them that imaginary friends were common in children my age. They never liked that news and never liked Jamie. Whenever they would on about how the doctor had to be wrong, I would agree. I would tell them that Jamie isn't imaginary. I thought that would cheer them up, but it merely made matters worse. Oftentimes, I would get sent to my room without supper for even speaking his name.

After a few years, the psychiatrists began possessing new ideas. They would try to convince myself and my parents that I was "too old" for an imaginary friend. I still didn't understand why no one liked Jamie or wanted us to be friends.

"I don't understand, Jamie. They – they say you're not real." Each word I spoke was through tears.

"You know better, Claire. I'm your friend. Your best friend. Or, as I remember you first calling me, your bestest friend."

"Shut up!" I let out a grin and playfully swatted his arm. He always had known how to cheer me up, no matter what.

"Look Claire, we've been friends since first grade, for like six years now, even if we do only secretly meet at parks, like this with me in a tree by your window, or behind your, um, ballet class studio."

I giggled. I hated that dance course but looked forward to it every week just to see Jamie.

"The point is, we've been good friends for a long time and there is something you need to know."

"What is it Jamie? You remember our blood oath pact from third grade. No secrets."

"No secrets Claire. I need to tell you something. I need you to know that, well, you're special."

"Special? What do you –"

"You're special Claire, unique. There are things you can do that no one else can."

"Um, okay, you're starting to sound like my father, but not drunk or mean."

"I mean it Claire. You are very special. There are things you don't know yet, things you will soon find out for yourself. I just want you to know that you are not alone when you do find out, before," He paused and frowned.

"Before what Jamie?"

"Before I'm gone."

"Gone? You're leaving? But why? No. You can't!"

"It's not my choice, Claire. I'm sorry. Believe me, I would stay if I could. You're my best friend and you always will be. I have to leave now, but remember, you're not alone. I'm sorry. Goodbye."

With that, he climbed down the tree and took off into the night.

"Jamie! Jamie! No! Don't go! Don't leave me!"

I wanted to run downstairs and make him stay but I knew it would be useless. I had attempted to slip past my parents, our maid Julie, and my father's security guard countless times before, all without success.

So I stood there, broken and screaming.

"Clare? Claire!"

I could hear my parents coming but I couldn't stop the tears. I hated them to see me like this. If I cried, they told me I was weak and acting like a little girl. If I was sad, they told me to grow up. I choked on the ones still inside and wiped away the rest as my parents burst through my bedroom door.

"What the hell is going on in here?"

Both of my parents had an expression of horror across their face as they surveyed the room. Their gazes quickly went to the ceiling and I followed.

"Wh – wha –"

I couldn't form words. There, hovering above my head appeared several dark and ominous clouds, lighting dancing back and forth from each one. Rain dropped down from them, covering me, yet I failed to become wet. I could not even feel the water against my skin.

"What did you do, young lady?" My father was again in a drunken stupor as he always was on weekend nights when he would count his money. "Talk, damn it! What are you, stupid?"

Thunder snapped and echoed throughout the oversized room, sending the three of us jumping, nearly out of our skin.

"Claire Elizabeth!" My mother screeched. "You stop whatever this is this instant!"

"It's not me!"

The thunder sounded again in unison with my scream, this time twice as loud.

"I mean – I don't – It can't be."

"Come on, Judy, let's get out of here!"

"Not without my baby!"

"Your baby is the one doing this! Leave her!"

"No!" My scream again came with thunder, but this time lightning quickly followed, piercing through my father.

"David! No!"

"It's alright, Judy. I'm not hurt. It's not real. None of it is. What kind of sick game are you playing, Claire? Are you trying to scare us? This some sort of trick? You stop it right now damn it!"

"Stop, yelling, at me!"

With that, images of fire exploded from the carpeted floor, merely inches away from my parents' feet. My mother stumbled back in horror and I can still remember the sounds of her body tumbling down the stairs and the horrified howl of my father. In that moment, the chaos of my bedroom vanished and I ran to the hallway.

"Stay back!" My father's voice was half rage, half agony. "Look at what you've done! Your own mother! You – you monster!"

I caught a glimpse of my mother's motionless form at the bottom of the staircase and that was all I needed to or could handle to see. I quickly turned back to my room.

"Get out of my house! You little freak! I'm calling the police! Get out! Get out!"

My cheeks were flooded with tears by the time I reached my window. The balcony was several feet away from the tree Jamie had been sitting in merely minutes earlier. I glanced down and the ground seemed to move further and further away. I closed my eyes for a brief moment.

_"But it's – it's so high. It's too high!"_

_"I'm right here. I won't let anything bad happen. Now, come on!"_

I took in a deep breath and opened my eyes, looking only at the tree in front of me. I hastily climbed over the railing and made a leap for the largest branch I could see. I imagined Jamie appearing out of nowhere and catching me in his arms. We would laugh and he would take me away from this place forever.

My hopes fell apart as my feet slid atop the branch. I quickly brought my arms up to steady myself but it was useless. My body began falling backwards and just when I thought I was going to die my arm caught a hold of another branch. It took every ounce of strength I had to pull myself up and in that moment I was almost thankful for dance and gymnastics classes. I continued my way down the rest of the tree slowly, my height phobia still lingering. As my feet hit the grass and I stared off into the distance, hoping, praying, I would be able to see him.

"Jamie! Jamie, please! Where are you? I need you! Please!"

My voice reverberated in the distance but was met with only the silence of the night.

_"You are not alone."_

He couldn't have been more wrong.


	2. Growing Pains

**Chapter Two: Growing Pains**

"Claire? Claire!"

I could hear my parents coming but I couldn't stop the tears. I hated them to see me like this. If I cried, they told me I was weak and acting like a little girl. If I was sad, they told me to grow up. I choked on the ones still inside and wiped away the rest as my parents burst through my bedroom door.

"What the hell is going on in here?"

Both of my parents had an expression of horror across their face as they surveyed the room. Their gazes quickly went to the ceiling and I followed.

"Wh – wha –"

I couldn't form words. There, hovering above my head appeared several dark and ominous clouds, lighting dancing back and forth from each one. Rain dropped down from them, covering me, yet I failed to become wet. I could not even feel the water against my skin.

"What did you do, young lady?" My father was again in a drunken stupor as he always was on weekend nights when he would count his money. "Talk, damn it! What are you, stupid?"

Thunder snapped and echoed throughout the oversized room, sending the three of us jumping, nearly out of our skin.

"Claire Elizabeth!" My mother screeched. "You stop whatever this is this instant!"

"It's not me!"

The thunder sounded again in unison with my scream, this time twice as loud.

"I mean – I don't – It can't be."

"Come on, Judy, let's get out of here!"

"Not without my baby!"

"Your baby is the one doing this! Leave her!"

"No!" My scream again came with thunder, but this time lightning quickly followed, piercing through my father.

"David! No!"

"It's alright, Judy. I'm not hurt. It's not real. None of it is. What kind of sick game are you playing, Claire? Are you trying to scare us? This some sort of trick? You stop it right now damn it!"

"Stop, yelling, at me!"

With that, images of fire exploded from the carpeted floor, merely inches away from my parents' feet. My mother stumbled back in horror and I can still remember the sounds of her body tumbling down the stairs and the horrified howl of my father. In that moment, the chaos of my bedroom vanished and I ran to the hallway.

"Stay back!" My father's voice was half rage, half agony. "Look at what you've done! Your own mother! You – you monster!"

I caught a glimpse of my mother's motionless form at the bottom of the staircase and that was all I needed to or could handle to see. I quickly turned back to my room.

"Get out of my house! You little freak! I'm calling the police! Get out! Get out!"

My cheeks were flooded with tears by the time I reached my window. The balcony was several feet away from the tree Jamie had been sitting in merely minutes earlier. I glanced down and the ground seemed to move further and further away. I closed my eyes for a brief moment.

_"But it's – it's so high. It's too high!"_

_"I'm right here. I won't let anything bad happen. Now, come on!"_

I took in a deep breath and opened my eyes, looking only at the tree in front of me. I hastily climbed over the railing and made a leap for the largest branch I could see. I imagined Jamie appearing out of nowhere and catching me in his arms. We would laugh and he would take me away from this place forever.

My hopes fell apart as my feet slid atop the branch. I quickly brought my arms up to steady myself but it was useless. My body began falling backwards and just when I thought I was going to die my arm caught a hold of another branch. It took every ounce of strength I had to pull myself up and in that moment I was almost thankful for dance and gymnastics classes. I continued my way down the rest of the tree slowly, my height phobia still lingering. As my feet hit the grass and I stared off into the distance, hoping, praying, I would be able to see him.

"Jamie! Jamie, please! Where are you? I need you! Please!"

My voice reverberated in the distance but was met with only the silence of the night.

_"You are not alone."_

He couldn't have been more wrong.


	3. Changes

**A/N: I didn't update 'cause I doubt anyone is ready this. Let me know differnt by READING and REVIEWING and I will update! =) ENJOY**

**Chapter 3: Changes**

The harsh pelts of water droplets against my already shivering skin began to feel like sharp bullets. My flesh had turned numb merely minutes earlier and I could no longer control the rapid clattering of my teeth; teeth that had not touched a morsel of food in days. Between my empty stomach and the cold I could already feel coming on from the storm, I suddenly had the intense urge to heave.

"_Ladies don't get sick."_

I could hear my mother's high-pitched voice inside my head as I bent over. Obviously my mother had never been seventeen and homeless.

_Seventeen._ The years had crawled by like a shaggy dog on a sweltering summer day. I spent the first two devoted to finding Jamie. He was all I thought about, night and day. When I would be huddled in a corner of a dark alley, alone and afraid, images of my once best friend would keep me feeling warm and safe. When I was with him, even in my mind, I felt safe. I searched all of our regular spots several times a week just in case he would come back. I even kept a close eye on my parents' house, hoping and praying to see Jamie standing under my old bedroom window or sitting up in the tree.

I couldn't poke around my parents' for too long, seeing as they had seemingly an entire army of search and rescue looking for me. At first, there were simply police that came around but soon after it was as if the government showed up on my parents' front lawn and were after me.

_"She's just a young girl." A woman whispered to an official-looking male._

They had stood merely feet away me as I hid silently in the bushes across the street.

_"She is one of them. That is all that matters. We need to find her, capture her, and figure out exactly what she is capable of. Those flames and storms her parents saw may have been not real, but this girl is likely dangerous to herself and other people."_

_"But, sir, peoples' views on the mutant situation –"_

_"Mutant problem, Susan."_

_"Either way, the public are thinking differently about mutants now that Senator Kelly has changed his stance."_

_"That doesn't matter. Sooner or later the truth will be revealed. You've heard talk of the cure."_

_"That is all speculation and –"_

_"It doesn't matter. These mutants are a problem to society, even if society fails to realize it. The captain wants us to find this girl, so that is what we are going to do, no matter the cost."_

_Mutant. _It was the first time I had ever heard the word. It was then I realized what I was and what was coming for me. That was the last day I visited my old house. I was young but I was not ignorant. I had seen E.T. and other movies of the sort, despite my father's disapproval, and knew that the government didn't just take you, they did things to you, experimented on you. From movies and from what I had learned from the actions of my parents, I had come to learn people tried to change things they didn't like or didn't understand. These people surely didn't like me and would never understand me. I was just a girl, barely a teenager. Dangerous? I sheltered injured birds as a child and hung pictures of horses in my closet. How could someone like me become dangerous?

I couldn't answer my own questions but knew the answer to the most obvious one, what to do now. I ran, as far and as fast I could.

Unfortunately, running only gets you so far. I couldn't run away from myself, or my powers.

The rain was becoming harder and the wind had picked up to the point that I could see trees bending and shaking. The tattered jacket I had found two years earlier abandon on a park bench was providing little shelter from the weather. I felt as if I had walked for miles when I finally reached the overpass. The wind still chapped my skin but the water no longer reached me. Just as I was going to sit on the cold pavement, a dark car pulled up and stopped. I could feel my heart begin to race as the front passenger window rolled down and the scared face of a man in his mid twenties appeared.

"Hey girl," He started as I attempted to avoid eye contact. This was hardly my first encounter with men such as him. "You must be freezing out here. Come on in here with us. We'll warm you up nice and good."

I didn't respond and turned my head away, hoping they would be too lazy to do anything about it.

"Hey! I was talking to you!"

"I don't think she heard you, Wade," the driver announced sarcastically, "I think we need to go out and _talk _with her."

Not seconds later, four males stepped out of the vehicle.

"Stay away from me." I attempted to sound firm but my voice cracked. I always hated what happened next. "I mean it, I'm warning you."

"_Oh_, we're terrified." One of them chided.

"What are you going to do," the one they called Wade mocked, "scream?"

"Something like that." I remarked.

I pressed my eyelids shut tight and concentrated. I could hear a few snickers surrounding me as the men did the same. Just as I thought my brain was going to burst the echoing blare of sirens emerged in the distance, growing louder.

"Dude, the cops." One of them murmured as I opened my eyes slowly.

"So," Wade stated slyly, "we'll just have to get her in the car faster."

I gulped. The headache was setting in already and the siren had always scared off attackers before.

"Grab her!"

With that I could feel hands grasping at any part of me they could. The struggles of one young girl against four men were futile. My feet tangled amongst themselves and I was soon pinned against the wall. My heart raced and I imagined it thrusting out from my chest. I could still feel the hands all over me. Their searching and aggressive fingers scraped over my cheeks, and then found my chest. Their ice cold skin met with my stomach underneath my shirt and made their way upward. I leaned forward but was quickly repelled back to the wall, sending a sharp pain from my shoulders to the bottom of my back. I began to punch and kick and holler with everything I had left but began being pulled toward the backseat. My wrists began to throb from the constant pressure and my legs buckled. One of my elbows collided with the stomach of one of the attackers and he let out a small groan and cussed at me while returning the blow. The blast sucked all the air out of my lungs and sent me to my knees, making it easier for them to push me to the car. Just as I thought it was over I let out one last ear piercing scream.

The sirens approaching doubled in volume and a crack of thunder shook the ground. A flash of lightning turned the night into day for a brief moment, followed by another ear shattering thunderous clap.

"Man, hurry up, get her inside. This weather's getting worse."

I felt my body being pushed again and my heart jumped.

The wind howled in the distance like an angry pack of wolves.

"Shit man! Look!"

All of us turned our heads towards the direction his shaking hand had been pointing. Not a mile away appeared a dark and swirling tornado, snatching up everything in its path. Even without a face, it looked enraged. Just as the realization of the image we all were witnessing set in, the overpass above us began to violently shake. The police sirens then again grew to ear-splitting levels, now accompanied by tornado warning sounds. A bolt of lightning crashed to the cement, mere feet away from my attackers, sprouting up a line of fire. They leapt and hurried into their vehicle.

"Let's get out of here!"

"What about the girl?"

"Leave the bitch!"

"Get in! Get in! Go!"

The shouts around me all began to blend together and could barely be heard over the horrific scene surrounding me. Their car sped off, chased by bolts of fierce and bright lightning and waves of fire. I could feel my head spinning and my heart racing.

"What's happening to me?"

The fire failed to cease and began to form a circle around me, as if to protect me. Even so, I couldn't help but become afraid. The lightning strikes continued to land closer and closer towards the ring of flames. I could feel the thunder inside my chest and the swirling violent wind that was the tornado was hovering just outside the bridge. Just as I imagined things couldn't get any worse, the overpass above me let out a massive tremble. As a scream emerged from my throat, another tornado shot down from the clouds on my opposite side. The entire scene looked like something out of a natural disaster or apocalyptic movie, and I was smack in the middle. The immense terror inside of me continued to build until my lungs could no longer take in decent breath. I remained there, crumpled on my knees, shivering and bloody, imagining that I was soon going to die or go insane.

"Storm? Storm is that you?"

I could faintly hear a voice in the distance, beyond the growing blazes around me. A shadowed figure moved cautiously towards me.

"Storm?"

"Stay back! Please, get away from me!"

"Who are you?"

"Just go away!"

Another bolt of lightning soared down from the sky. The man quickly dove out of its way and rolled right back onto his feet with cat-like style.

"Hey, kid! I ain't gonna hurt you! Just lower the defenses a little."

"I can't!"

By now, my head was throbbing and it was becoming troublesome to see straight. My body was quivering from the growing weakness and I could barely keep myself from fainting.

The man seemed unsurprised and unthreatened by the entire situation which caught me by extreme surprise. He continued moving towards me, despite the intense obstacles.

"Yes you can. If you're making this happen, you can make it stop."

He took a significant step towards me and I recoiled, sending a wave of the flames towards him. The fire engulfed his body to the point I could no longer see him.

"I told you to stay back! I'm sorry!" Tears began to pour from my strained eyes, stinging the cuts and scrapes that decorated my face. "I didn't mean to," I whimpered, "I warned you."

The fire began to smolder and then slowly disappeared, as if being drown by my tears. I looked up, awaiting to witness the horrifying image of a complete stranger burnt into nothing, a stranger that I killed. My heart leapt into my chest and my hairs stood on end as I looked into the live eyes of the man.

"You're – you're, but how?"

"It's not real."

He paused and made a hesitant expression before stepping through the line of fire that surrounded me.

"How did – how did you -?"

"Like I said, it's not real. None of it. From what I can tell, this is some sort of mirage or illusion or something, and you're creating it."

"What? That's insane."

"Insane? Take a look around you, kid. I think we're far past insane here. Now, this is your illusion or whatever, so take charge of it."

"How?"

"Concentrate, and calm down."

I slammed my eyelids shut tight and attempted to focus. The pounding in my head failed to help with the attempt. It took all of my strength and more to stand and I had to clamp my hands against the sides of my head.

"That's it, kid."

I opened my eyes slowly to watch as the disasters around me faded as if to have never existed. Just as the only thing left was the original rainstorm, my mind fluttered and I could feel my body hurdling downwards to meet the hard ground. Right before my face clashed with the cements and the darkness took over, a pair of arms cradled me and I slowly sank into them and into myself, my mind spent and black.


	4. Déjà vu

**A/N: READ and REVIEW please...I'm probably going to stop updating this story if I don't get any reviews but I don't think anyone is really liking it. **

**Chapter Four: Déjà vu **

"I could see the fire, but I couldn't feel a thing."

"Are you sure it wasn't your healing ability that kept you safe?"

"I heal, but I'm not un-flammable. You ever been set on fire, _fur _ball_? _I'm tellin' you, it wasn't real, wasn't even warm."

The voices were faint but clear enough that I could still hear them in my daze of waking. The sharp sound of heels against tile entered the room, stopping the previous conversation.

"Fight nice, boys. Don't make me separate you two. How is she Hank?"

"Stable. She sustained quite the beating. Two bruised ribs, minor concussion, several lacerations on her face, arms, hands and legs, and a minor wrist sprain. If I had to assume, which I am not fond of doing seeing as I am a man of factual evidence, it would appear that this young lady was attacked and the heightened emotional stress triggered her extraordinary powers."

"So, what, she thinks about a tornado and 'poof' it's there?" The one who had saved me asked in a sarcastic tone I did not like too much.

"Not precisely. You said that she was mostly unaware of what was happening. I doubt she has ever generated anything on that large of a scale before or truly knows how to control it yet. These 'illusions' she creates could come from childhood fears, reoccurring dreams, a movie she watched one too many times, anything, until she learns to control it and, I believe, fashion whatever images she likes."

"Not much of a defensive power if you can walk right through the fire she creates." The woman with the high heels stated.

"Enough to scare away the average human." The figure behind the curtain who had strangely known about all of my wounds responded.

"Either way, we should keep her here, to keep her safe from others and herself."

"There's something else," the man they called Hank hesitated, "I discovered several other, um, scars on her body. They're not from the attack. They look as though they have existed since early childhood. The patterns are consistent with – "

"With what?"

"Severe and continuous abuse. Statistically speaking, from her father."

"It would make sense. Those clothes she's wearing look like she's been livin' on the streets. Beatin' their kid like that. I'd wanna kill 'em."

"Logan!"

_"I'd wanna kill 'em"_

_ "Stop, yelling, at me!" _

_ With that, images of fire exploded from the carpeted floor, merely inches away from my parents' feet. My mother stumbled back in horror and I can still remember the sounds of her body tumbling down the stairs and the horrified howl of my father. In that moment, the chaos of my bedroom vanished and I ran to the hallway. _

_ "Stay back!" My father's voice was half rage, half agony. "Look at what you've done! Your own mother! You – you monster!"_

"No!" I didn't even realize I had screamed aloud until the word had already escaped from my mouth.

_"You knock it off, right now, young lady!"_

_ The blow from my father's belt impaired my vision for a brief moment. He seemed to grow in strength with each hit. I tried my hardest to hold back and then hide the tears, but they came without my permission._

_ "Don't you cry! Not my daughter! Are you a little baby? Huh? My daughter doesn't cry!" _

I could see my father at the foot of my bed, belt in hand, clutching it tight.

"Get away from me!" I screamed.

"Hank, what is going on?" the woman rushed over, followed by the other two.

"Don't you come near me!"

"We're not going to hurt you, kid. Remember me?"

"I won't let you hurt me anymore!"

"I didn't realize she was awake." Hank muttered. "I should've known. Me, speaking of her father must've triggered old memories. She sees her father, here, now."

"So, she can create things only she can see?" Logan spouted, "Well, this is just great."

"You're safe, honey." I could hear the woman but she didn't know what father was capable of.

"Take control," the man named Logan urged. "Take control. He's not real. Ignore him."

"Ignore him. Ignore him. I can do this. I can."

"That's right," the woman reassured, "look at us, not him."

"Wh-who are you people?"

"My name is Ororo, also called Storm, this is Hank, who we also call Beast."

For the first time I truly looked up and saw this new stranger. I jumped backwards in my bed. This "man" was covered head to toe in blue fur and had animal-like features.

"Trust me," Logan whispered towards me, "we don't call him that just for his looks."

I smiled softly, not realizing at first I had done so and the quickly retracting it.

"And you've already met Logan," the woman said with a responding tone to his remarks, "also known as Wolverine."

"So, what? Storm, Beast, Wolverine? You all get bored with your own names or you all just have some Cher or Oprah one name complex?"

"We use different names that reflect our unique abilities to protect ourselves."

"Protect yourself from what?"

"People fear what they do not understand, like us. We have lost several people, several friends, learning this."

There was a short silence as the three exchanged sorrowful looks.

"So, you mind tellin' us your name, kid?"

I didn't answer.

"Look, you know we ain't here to hurt you. If we were, we woulda done it while you were sleeping. Believe me, I wasn't too keen on this place either, and all the _names_, but we just want to help. So, let's try this again, you're name?"

"Claire."

"You got a last name Claire?" This guy was persistent.

Again I was silent. For some unexplainable reason, I trusted these people and truly thought they could help me. They wouldn't help some girl who killed her own mother.

"You two want to give us a moment?"

The tall and dark complexioned one named Storm nodded and turned on her heel, but not before offering me a warm smile. The blue creature that still slightly frightened me followed, granting the same grin, lessening my fear of him slightly.

"Okay now, you wanna try this again?"

I shook my head.

"You guys, you saved my life. You've shown more concern for me than anyone has in a very long time. But, I'm sorry. I can't stay here. I can't stay anywhere."

"You can. Look, I didn't care too much for these guys or this place at first. Hell, I thought they were all freaks. But, they, we, can help you. Whatever you've gone through, done, wherever you've been, we understand, because we've been there too."

"Understand? How could you or anyone else understand?" By this time I had ripped off the wires attached to my skin and leapt off the bed.

"Claire, listen to me –"

_"Claire, listen to me –"_

I could hear my father's voice echo Logan's words.

"No!"

Without warning, I bolted for the door. It opened up to a strange and long hallway. I didn't pay attention to where I was going, I just kept running. I could hear hurried footsteps behind me and made several turns down various halls to hopefully draw confusion to my pursuer. I felt as if I was inside some sort of maze. Suddenly, the complete appearance was altered. It seemed as if I had walked into an entirely different place. The floors were wooden, matching the walls and ceiling. The entire atmosphere resembled an old Victorian home or sorority house. I ducked into a corner as a mass of footsteps approached. A group of kids my own age bustled past. Two boys tossed a football back and forth. Another kept her head in a book. Three girls strolled together, whispering and giggling. _Sorority house. _

"Hey, watch where you're going!" A boy hollered after another who had pushed into him.

"Make me, Mark. " The other boy challenged with a sly grin. He held up his hand, small sparks shooting from his fingertips.

"You wanna go Steven? Then, let's go." He went to raise his own hand, but it suddenly began to turn a blue shade. The same then happened to the boy called Steven, the sparks disappearing.

"Cool off you two. No fighting, remember? You want to let off some steam, try getting to your danger room lesson with Wolverine. We'll see how tough you are then."

"Come on, Bobby, we were just having some fun."

"Yeah, since when did you become hall monitor?"

They both shrunk their shoulders when Bobby didn't retaliate as they had seemed to have desired him to do. The crowd dispersed and the hall became clear again. I cautiously stepped out and eyed the front door.

"You new here?"

"Huh?" I spun around to meet the gaze of a girl around my age. Her hair was dark, despite two long white streaks in the front. Her face was kind and I was surprised to see her smile was genuine.

"I've never seen you 'round here before is all. You're not leavin', are you?"

"Yes I am and no one is stopping me."

"Hey, hold on. I was going to leave when I first came here. The people here saved my life and I was going to runaway, like I always did. I hurt someone, real bad too. I know that look. You've hurt someone, haven't you?"

"What do you care?"

"I care because I've been there."

"Why does everyone keep trying to help me? Just leave alone!"

As I spoke, a demon-looking creature materialized in front of me. I stepped back in shock and horror. The being charged towards the girl, but she managed to duck away. It came at her yet again.

"No!"

I didn't want help, but I dreaded hurting anyone else. The figure vanished just as it was inches away from the girl's face.

"I'm sorry."

I turned towards the door but collided with the older boy the others had called Bobby before. His skin felt cold to the touch and I backed away quickly.

"Rogue, what's going on? I heard you scream."

"She – she created a monster or something."

"I – I didn't mean to."

My head was beginning to pulse again and I wrapped my hands around it, letting out a loud groan.

_"She created a monster or something."_

_ "Look at what you've done! Your own mother! You – you monster!"_

I let out a shriek and looked down at my hands. They began to emit glowing sparks similar to the boy I had watched before. Before I knew it they were shooting towards the boy in front of me.

"Bobby!" The girl let out a cry as a few students entered the area, hearing the commotion.

Bobby dove out of the way of the electric blasts and returned them with a line of ice. I ducked down before it could reach me. As Bobby avoided the attacks, they began targeting the others in the room. One of the boys repelled the discharge with a small force field and then molded the same field with his hands into his own blast towards me. The impact forced me into a wall and the static disappeared from my hands.

"Get her!" One of the boys cried out.

"No! Wait!"

The blue creature from earlier pushed his way through the crowd that had formed.

"It's not real, any of it. They're just illusions."

"She tried to blow Bobby and Rogue to pieces! Let us at her!"

"Touch her, and _you'll _be in pieces, bub."

I hadn't even realized Logan had stepped in front of me, soon joined by Storm.

"I didn't mean to, I swear."

Storm turned to me with a sympathetic gaze, "we know." She nodded and turned back to the remaining onlookers. "Now, everyone, get to your classes, now."

"But, you're our teachers."

"Just go" Logan snarled.

"Colossus," Hank motioned for one of the older people in the crowd. "get Kitty. You two, Bobby, and Rogue will be our substitute teachers today."

"But, Mr. McCoy," Bobby began, "what are we supposed to teach?"

"How about Danger Room Session 3, I'm sure you all can keep them alive."

If it wasn't for his sarcastic and playful grin, I would have been terrified.

"Now," he began, turning back to me, "how 'bout you calm down and let us help you."

"No one can help me."

"If you run now, you'll be running for the rest of your life." The woman added.

"Why don't you start by telling us who or what you're running from?" The blue creature questioned sympathetically.


End file.
